Welcome to Hackteria.org

Quorum sensing is a type of decision-making process used by decentralized groups to coordinate behavior. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate their gene expression according to the local density of their population.The Bacterial Net attempts to transfer this decision making process over the Internet. Using Microcontollers and sensors to detect bacterial population and a public web service http://www.pachube.com that helps transfer sensor information. The Bacterial Net is an exploration in bringing the Internet into the Natural Ecosystem.

Integrating electronics into biological culture devices needs different approaches. the use of silicone-rubbers for sealing off the wet/humid bio-part from the silicon circuits and sensors allows the making of hybrid bioelectronic devices.

a small hack to the optics of a standard webcam with an adjustable focus-lens, allows to create video data, with a magnification of around 100 to 400x (depending on the model) at a working distance of a few mm. The highest magnifications can be achieved by inverting (putting upside down) the lens. Addition of good lighting by the use of leds allows to create images using a bright-field method (shine through the stuff) or dark field method (look at the reflections and scattering).

instead of using standard lab culture tools, such as flasks or petri-dishes, artists might want to design their own devices to culture and inhabitate living organisms and keep them alive. simple devices can be cast in silicone to incorporate all the necessary environemtal conditions for long time survival of microorganisms.

Spectroscopy means the analysis of natural phenomena according to its energy distribution. In case of the electromagnetic spectra, ranging from x-ray, visible light, infrated to radio frequencies, this can be used to analyse chemical compounds, follow biochemical reactions or get information of the composition of stars. This project tries utilize webcams, CD/DVD and some construction material, to get a spectral analysis of ultra-violett and visible light sources, which might be used to follow enzymatic and metabolic reactions in cultured microorganisms and bacteria.